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Thursday, 8 December 2011

COP17: Uganda calls for global agreement to end deforestation

By Mubatsi Asinja Habati

Uganda’s water and environment minister, Maria
Mutagamba, has said a global agreement should be designed to help cut down
deforestation that contributes to global warming. Mutagamba was speaking at the
high level segment of the United Nations (UN) climate
talks in Durban attended by top UN diplomats, heads of state, and ministers of
environment and country delegates in the ongoing 17th conference of
parties (COP17) to UN framework on climate change (UNFCC) negotiations.

She said this in regard to the UN collaborative programme
on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
(REDD) in Developing Countries. Forests play a vital role in stabilizing
global climate increases since they store large quantities of carbon, both in
the trees and vegetation itself and within the soil in the form of decaying
plant matter. When forests destroyed more carbon escape into the atmosphere increasing
the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and accelerating the
rate of climate change. So REDD was introduced to encourage countries to
protect their forests and get a motivation fee for the amount of carbon trapped.

Mutagamba said while efforts are being made to
implement REDD mainly in developing countries “any agreement should be designed
to stop deforestation and degradation, not simply reduce or defer emissions.” She
added that: “real solutions are needed to stop deforestation to tackle its
underlying drivers.” The minister listed poverty, population explosion and lack
of alternative livelihoods as major drivers of deforestation in Uganda.

Massive felling of trees on Elgon Mountain has been
associated with the recent landslides that caused extensive harm to people’s
livelihoods in the area. Studies show that between 1990 and
2005, Uganda lost 26.3% of its remaining forest cover, and today deforestation continues at an unabated rate of 2.2% annually.
In 2009 the National Environment Management Authority issued a report in
which it said Uganda was at a dire risk of losing 38% its forest cover by 2020.

Mutagamba, who was giving
government’s position less than 48 hours to the conclusion of the 2 weeks COP17
negotiations, said Uganda endorses the second commitment to the Kyoto Protocol,
which commits nations to reduce their carbon emissions, and establishing a
working green climate fund to help the poor nations adapt to vagaries of
climate change, largely caused by industrialized countries.